[Movie 258 / Day 274]
This Luc Besson penned actioner is set in Paris, 2010. Crime in the slums on the outskirts of the city has become so bad, that the government has put walls around the troublesome districts and have armed police patrolling the borders. Inside the walls, the police have left, leaving the gangs to rule. The leader of one tower block, Leïto (David Belle), just wants to have a safe place to call home, with no drug dealers outside and without graffiti on every wall in sight. He steals a suitcase of heroin from the big boss of the district, Taha, and destroys the drugs as a warning. Unfortunately, Taha isn’t too happy about losing a million Euros and kidnaps Leïto’s sister. In attempting to rescue her, Leïto is arrested by what remains of the corrupt police force.
Six months later, an experimental neutron bomb is stolen by Taha’s gang. Capt. Damien Tomaso (Cyril Raffaelli) is tasked with finding it and disarming it before the timer sets it off and destroys District 13, killing all 2 million inhabitants. Part of that assignment involves convincing Leïto to lead him to Taha’s base by posing as a fellow prisoner and helping him to escape. Together, they have to find and disarm the bomb and rescue Leïto’s sister, who is still being held by Taha. Unfortunately, Taha has learnt a few lessons from his last encounter with Leïto and has used old army surplus supplies to turn the bomb into a rocket and has it pointed at the centre of Paris – unless the government pay him €20 million. When they refuse, it’s down to Damien and Leïto to save the day.
District 13 is a brilliant action movie, combining Parkour (which was founded by David Belle) and martial arts to explosive effects. The opening chase is spectacular – you just can’t believe that a man can navigate buildings and obstacles so fluidly and swiftly. The plot, while nothing special, has enough scope for fights and action sequences that you’re never left waiting long before something exciting happens. There’s even a little twist at the end. The movie still feels really fresh, thanks in part to the style of editing and the blue-tinted palette.
All in all, it’s a fun ride and well worth watching – I’m really looking foward to seeing the sequel, released in the UK on DVD and Bluray later this month.
My Rating: 
[ IMDB rating: 7.1 / 10 | IMDB link | Running time: 84 mins ]
